Bipartisan plan emerges to return smoking to bars, restaurants, casinos
Rocky Mountain News reporter Ed Sealover proves why Colorado political watchers are gnashing their teeth over the possibility Denver might soon become a one-newspaper town.
In Thursday's Rocky, Sealover breaks the story that Republican and Democratic legislators have hatched a plan to roll back the statewide smoking ban by allowing "bars, restaurants, racetracks and parts of casinos" to be classified as cigar bars -- exempt from the ban -- if they meet certain criteria. Colorado lawmakers banned smoking in most public places in 2006 and added a ban at casinos the next year, citing concerns over workers' health.
Midnight Regulations: Nearing the Bush Administration’s end game
As late as Friday, the Bush administration was still implementing midnight regulations -- and we're still bird-dogging them. Today's update includes two additions to our chart and a decision from the Environmental Protection Agency that concerns a rule on a contaminant found in drinking water.
HHS reproductive health ‘conscience clause’ pushback presses forward
Lawmakers and reproductive health advocates are in full court press to repeal an 11th-hour Bush Administration rule that threatens women’s health care set to go into effect Tuesday — hours before President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.
DeGette, Senate majority leader team up to reduce unintended pregnancies, abortions
Following on U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette's push to repeal the controversial healthcare worker "conscience clause" rule being rushed through by the Bush Administration, the Denver Democrat is pairing up with a big political gun and abortion foe, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), to promote women's reproductive care in a rare common ground approach.
DeGette survives Waxman’s energy committee housecleaning
As my Washington colleague Mike Lillis points out, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Cal., is making good on promises to make the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee more environmentally friendly after wresting the chairmanship from longtime auto industry ally Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.
While other high profile members are out and two subcommittees have been combined, Denver Democrat Diana DeGette made the cut and will continue as vice chair despite backing Dingell to retain the leadership post.
State AGs may band together over ‘conscience clause,’ but not Colorado
Expanding on Mike Lillis' story today on Capitol Hill Democrats' attempts to repeal the 11th hour Bush Administration "conscience clause" rule that threatens women's reproductive health care, 13 states are planning a federal court challenge should political remedies fail.
2009 Year in Review
© Copyright 2008 Patrick Chappatte - All Rights Reserved
Click the image to see the full-size cartoon.
So what are your predictions for the new year? Democrats eye options in overturning health care ‘conscience clause’
Democratic policymakers vowing to overturn a controversial new Bush administration rule that could limit women’s reproductive health options have several tools at their disposal to do so -- but party leaders aren’t revealing which they favor.
Teen ‘virginity pledges’ fail; Colorado shuns federal abstinence-only funds
Abstinence-only education takes another hit in a new study that finds that not only do teens who vow chastity until marriage have premarital sex on par with non-pledgers but that they're much less likely to use condoms or other forms of contraception.
Outlook bleak for low-income health programs in 2009
Suffering the recession’s painful squeeze, more states are eying cuts to low-income health care programs to salvage their budgets.